Best Ahrefs Alternatives in 2026
Ahrefs is a popular choice for marketing, but it's not the only option. Whether you're looking for better pricing, different features, or a fresh approach, we've compared the top 10 alternatives to help you find the right fit.
10 alternatives reviewed · Updated February 2026
Our Top Picks
- 1SEMrush— The all-in-one digital marketing and SEO toolkit
- 2Clearscope— AI content optimization for top search rankings
- 3Surfer SEO— AI-powered SEO content optimization platform
Ahrefs Alternatives at a Glance
| Tool | Rating | Starting Price | Free Tier | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEMrush | ★★★★☆4.5/5 | $130/mo | No | The all-in-one digital marketing and SEO toolkit |
| Clearscope | ★★★★☆4.5/5 | $170/mo | No | AI content optimization for top search rankings |
| Surfer SEO | ★★★★☆4.4/5 | $99/mo | No | AI-powered SEO content optimization platform |
| Jasper | ★★★★☆4.2/5 | $49/mo | No | AI marketing platform for brand content at scale |
| Copy.ai | ★★★★☆4.1/5 | $49/mo | Yes | AI-powered copywriting for marketing teams |
| MarketMuse | ★★★★☆4.1/5 | $149/mo | Yes | AI content intelligence for strategic content planning |
| Writesonic | ★★★★☆4/5 | $16/mo | Yes | AI content creation platform for marketers and creators |
| Anyword | ★★★★☆4/5 | $49/mo | No | AI copywriting platform with predictive performance scoring |
| Lumen5 | ★★★★☆4/5 | $29/mo | Yes | Transform blog posts into engaging videos with AI |
| Pictory | ★★★☆☆3.9/5 | $23/mo | No | Turn long-form content into short branded videos |
Top 10 Ahrefs Alternatives
SEMrush
The all-in-one digital marketing and SEO toolkit
SEMrush is the industry-leading all-in-one digital marketing platform offering comprehensive SEO, PPC, content marketing, and competitive analysis tools. With AI-powered features for keyword research, site auditing, and content optimization, it is the go-to platform for marketing professionals and agencies managing online visibility.
Why choose SEMrush over Ahrefs? Most comprehensive SEO and marketing toolkit available. Also: competitive analysis features are unmatched.
Clearscope
AI content optimization for top search rankings
Clearscope is a premium AI content optimization platform used by enterprise content teams to create and optimize content that ranks. It analyzes top-performing pages for any keyword and provides data-driven recommendations for topics, terms, and structure to include, resulting in significantly higher search rankings.
Why choose Clearscope over Ahrefs? Consistently helps content achieve higher rankings. Also: simple and focused interface avoids feature bloat.
Surfer SEO
AI-powered SEO content optimization platform
Surfer SEO is an AI-powered content optimization tool that analyzes top-ranking pages and provides data-driven recommendations. It helps create SEO-optimized content with real-time scoring, keyword suggestions, and content structure guidance.
Why choose Surfer SEO over Ahrefs? Data-driven content optimization. Also: real-time content scoring is very useful.
Jasper
AI marketing platform for brand content at scale
Jasper is an AI content platform designed for marketing teams. It helps create on-brand marketing copy, blog posts, social media content, and ad copy with built-in brand voice training and team collaboration features.
Why choose Jasper over Ahrefs? Purpose-built for marketing teams. Also: excellent brand voice consistency.
Copy.ai
AI-powered copywriting for marketing teams
Copy.ai is an AI copywriting platform that helps marketers and businesses generate high-quality marketing copy in seconds. From blog posts and social media captions to email campaigns and product descriptions, it streamlines the entire content creation workflow with powerful automation features.
Why choose Copy.ai over Ahrefs? Generous free tier to get started. Also: excellent template variety for marketing use cases.
MarketMuse
AI content intelligence for strategic content planning
MarketMuse is an AI-powered content intelligence platform that helps content strategists plan, create, and optimize content with data-driven insights. It analyzes your entire site's content, identifies gaps and opportunities, and provides detailed content briefs that guide writers to create comprehensive, authoritative articles.
Why choose MarketMuse over Ahrefs? Comprehensive site-level content gap analysis is unmatched. Also: content briefs provide genuinely strategic direction.
Writesonic
AI content creation platform for marketers and creators
Writesonic is an AI-powered content creation platform that generates SEO-optimized blog posts, ads, landing pages, and product descriptions. It combines GPT-4-level generation with built-in SEO tools and a user-friendly editor to help teams produce content at scale.
Why choose Writesonic over Ahrefs? Affordable entry price for unlimited words. Also: strong seo integration for content optimization.
Anyword
AI copywriting platform with predictive performance scoring
Anyword is an AI copywriting platform built specifically for marketers that generates and optimizes marketing copy with data-driven performance predictions. Its unique predictive analytics score each copy variation so you know which version is likely to perform best before publishing.
Why choose Anyword over Ahrefs? Predictive scoring is genuinely useful for choosing best copy. Also: strong focus on marketing and conversion-driven content.
Lumen5
Transform blog posts into engaging videos with AI
Lumen5 is an AI-powered video creation platform that automatically transforms blog posts, articles, and text content into engaging videos. It uses AI to match text with relevant stock footage, add animations, and create professional video content ideal for social media and content marketing.
Why choose Lumen5 over Ahrefs? Effortless blog-to-video conversion saves hours. Also: ai scene matching with stock footage is impressive.
Pictory
Turn long-form content into short branded videos
Pictory is an AI video creation platform that converts long-form content like blog posts, scripts, and webinars into short, shareable video clips. It automatically adds captions, selects stock footage, and applies branding, making it a time-saving tool for content repurposing and social media marketing.
Why choose Pictory over Ahrefs? Excellent for repurposing long-form content into clips. Also: auto-captioning accuracy is very good.
Why Look for Ahrefs Alternatives?
While Ahrefs is a solid tool rated 4.6/5, there are several reasons you might want to explore alternatives:
- Pricing: Ahrefs offers a free tier, but paid plans start at $99/mo. Some alternatives offer more generous free tiers or lower paid plans.
- Feature gaps: Users have noted that expensive entry price for small businesses and freelancers. Some alternatives address this directly.
- Different workflow: Your specific use case may be better served by a tool designed with a different approach or specialization.
- Team requirements: Collaboration features, security policies, and integration needs vary by team and organization.
How We Ranked These Ahrefs Alternatives
We evaluated each alternative based on output quality, ease of use, pricing value, feature depth, and integration capabilities. Tools are ranked by our editorial rating, which reflects hands-on testing across real-world use cases. All reviews are updated monthly to reflect the latest changes.